Chapter 09…
Nabel did not keep Rone waiting for long. After issuing a few urgent orders, he returned straight to her.
“Sister.”
“Nabel.”
Rone was gazing out the window. Just a few hours ago, she had never imagined she would be able to leave like this.
Creeeak…
Vel, though having regained a little of his strength, still drooped his tail and nestled in Rone’s arms. After glancing at Vel once, Nabel spoke.
“—Do you remember the forest that looked like the sea?”
Rone’s eyes widened. So did those of her maid, Lynn, who had been brushing her hair. Only the other maid—strange to both of them and belonging to this unfamiliar mansion—kept her head bowed deeply, showing no reaction.
“That place where countless leaves spread endlessly, so that when the wind blew, it looked as though waves rolled like the sea.”
Nabel’s eyes brushed briefly against Lynn’s.
It was a story Lynn once told them when they were children.
For Rone, who had grown up inland, it had been hard to picture.
A forest stretching out like the sea—such a vast sight was impossible to imagine by simply stringing together the few trees she could glimpse from her window.
“I know a place like that. I want to go there with you.”
Nabel’s voice was soft, almost like a whisper.
Rone had no reason to refuse.
She could never return to the Lida estate. Nor was there any place for her in the Eastern Continent.
At least, not anywhere within the reach of the Church.
All the more so, after killing an inquisitor…
Rone’s expression dimmed.
‘Will it really be all right?’
She had already been branded a demon. Wherever she went, she would be an enemy to the Church. She might have to spend her whole life watching out for magicians.
But what about Nabel?
“You are troubled with many worries.”
At some point, Nabel had drawn close and placed a gloved hand gently against her cheek.
“Ah.”
As though realizing something, Nabel pulled the white glove off with his teeth and let it fall.
Thud. The glove dropped to the floor.
The mansion’s maid widened her eyes at the sight. She knew that her lord never went anywhere without gloves.
“….”
Now barehanded, Nabel touched the corner of Rone’s eye, as if to smooth away the crease formed by worry.
“If it’s the inquisitor you’re worried about, you don’t have to. Didn’t I promise you?”
Since their childhood days.
“I would never do anything to harm you. So…”
His voice trembled ever so slightly.
“Will you come with me, to see the forest-sea?”
It was no different from asking her to come to where he lived. And Rone remembered clearly that old childhood conversation.
“That’s in the Western Continent, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
It meant leaving the Eastern Continent behind. A completely new place. Somewhere she had never been, and never even imagined setting foot in.
It would surely be very different from here. After all, people of the East and West had little exchange with each other.
Their cultures must also be entirely different.
“That’s where you’ve been for the last ten years.”
“Yes.”
Nabel did not deny it. Revealing himself here in the East would do no good, but at least not before Rone.
“…It’s your homeland.”
“You knew.”
He did not deny that either.
Rone nodded slowly.
“Not that I knew, but I wondered where someone who knew about divine beasts could have come from.”
It was the conclusion she had reached during their time apart.
The people of the East knew nothing of divine beasts. Rone herself had never even heard of them.
But Nabel seemed to know them well.
If even a child like him had once known about them, then it had to be from an entirely different land.
“Whenever I thought of you, I realized—you must be from the West.”
Nabel smiled.
“I should have come sooner.”
His regretful gaze rested on Rone’s pale face.
I was afraid that those who followed me would come to you, so I only drew you again and again in my mind.
But he swallowed those words.
“You are exactly as I remembered.”
Sister. He wanted to call her that once again.
Nabel smiled.
The person who carried the fragrance of deep roses. This time, he would not let her go.
He didn’t want to part from her.
‘Just as I have watched only you for ten years… have you also thought only of me?’
Nabel wanted more than ever to take Rone’s hand.
But if he did, she would be able to read his thoughts completely.
Better to hear it from her lips—that was the way to respect her. So he held back his desire.
“But if you go to the West, you may never be able to return to the East.”
The Western and Eastern continents were far apart.
Only a narrow region called the Bridge of Finelle opened a land route once a month. Otherwise, it required a perilous voyage.
Right now, the timing was fortunate. The Bridge of Finelle was passable in safety.
But because it was so difficult to cross, it might mean she could never come back.
“….”
That was what he was telling her.
That she had to decide. Did she truly wish to leave this place? Was she willing to come with him to a foreign land?
“The Western Continent is… different from the East. You know that.”
He began slowly, reluctantly.
Come with me.
Let’s be together forever.
Just as I wished when I was a child.
I want to be with you, always.
He longed to say that. But it would be selfish.
Nabel forced himself to restrain.
He had not come to bind Rone.
He had never forgotten how she had once given him that tiny, unique refuge of freedom.
He had never forgotten how precious that kindness was.
And so he restrained his desire. He would never dare to take her against her will.
If the people of the West—used to the young tyrant emperor—saw him now, they would have been shocked.
“The West is vast,” Nabel said, suppressing his yearning one last time.
“So vast that its monsters are equally huge and wicked. Dangerous. And Westerners know little of Easterners. You’ll find many inconveniences. Above all, this pink hair of yours… it’s a color only found in the East.”
Nabel’s fingertips brushed carefully against her pink hair.
“Westerners think of Easterners as outsiders… You may find it hard to adapt.”
But in the West, you will be the one who shines brightest. He murmured softly.
“I don’t want you to suffer. If you wish to stay in the East, I will make it so, somehow.”
Rone laughed as she listened to him list all the drawbacks of the West. It was almost as if he were trying to scare her away before a journey to a frightening place.
Yet, despite his words, his face was desperate.
As if saying: Come with me.
That alone was enough for Rone.
“Is it scarier than the mansion?”
At her words, Nabel fell silent. His gaze drifted toward the distant outline of the Lida estate.
“Compared to that… yes, it’s scarier.”
Rone’s eyes widened slightly.
“Compared to a place with such worthless things. But there will be better people than in that mansion.”
Hearing that, Rone smiled again.
“Nabel, that’s enough.”
She took his hand. And Nabel felt her true thoughts.
「More than anything, I don’t want to be alone anymore.」
「That’s why I was planning to escape. If you hadn’t come, I would have tried.」
And that would surely have been dangerous… Nabel inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
A breath escaped him, half-restrained, half-thrilling.
“Then, let’s go.”
To the West. To the place I have prepared for ten years for you.
“You have given me permission.”
The words were almost a whisper.
The last thread of reason in his mind snapped.
Nabel escorted Rone to the carriage waiting at the back of the mansion.
To move quickly, smaller carriages had been prepared.
There were two in total.
Lynn rode in the rear carriage with the others. It was the only choice. When told it was for Rone’s comfort, she accepted.
Rattle!
The carriage sped forward.
Rone was not used to traveling by carriage. In her childhood, she had ridden them more often, but since her stepmother’s arrival, such outings had become rare.
As an adult, carriage rides felt unfamiliar. She glanced at the black-clad riders flanking them.
“They’re all people you can trust,” Nabel said with a quiet smile.
“You must have met many good people while we were apart.”
Rone felt relief. She had often worried whether he had struggled alone.
A gentle smile blossomed on her lips.
Of course, he must have endured hardships. But he had survived. That was enough.
“None are more meaningful than the first,” Nabel smiled.
The first good person of his life was now gazing out the window, bathed in warm sunlight.
The journey was long.
Fortunately, they did not need to cross the rough seas.
Though seeing the wide ocean had once been her childhood dream, now was not the time.
Rone’s body was too weak. Prolonging the journey would be too much.
“….”
After more than ten days of travel, they finally reached the Western Continent. It was indeed different from the East.
Rone beheld trees so tall she could not see their tops. Their trunks so massive that even ten people could not encircle one with their arms.
One such tree alone blotted out the sun, casting their carriage into shade for nearly a minute.
“Wow…”
Just as Nabel had said. This place was utterly unlike the East. If trees could be this huge, then the monsters, too, would be massive.
And dangerous.
It was all so unfamiliar.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the carriage jolted hard.
One of the black-clad guards paled and bowed low—he had been riding nearby.
“….”
Rone inclined her head slightly, to show she was fine, but the man caught Nabel’s eyes behind her instead.
Eyes that said: I will not forgive a second mistake.
The guard, tense, quickly relayed orders to the driver. The carriage pressed forward more carefully, yet faster.
Rone looked past the giant tree into the distance. Upon a hill, a chase unfolded.
Creatures she had never seen before.
Kyao!
Kyakk…!
No, not mere animals—they were monsters.
One brown beast sank its fangs into the fleeing creature’s neck.
At once, Nabel covered her eyes with his hand.
The warmth of his palm blocked her sight.
“It’s not something pleasant to see.”
“You’re right.”
Rone agreed and turned her gaze inward. Even the carriage itself was different from what she remembered.
Yes, the West was certainly strange and dangerous.
But she did not feel uneasy.
It was far freer than the Lida estate had ever been.
For the first time, she felt like she could breathe.
She drew in a deep breath, exhaled, and smiled.
Her heart was racing.
Nabel pressed a kiss once more upon the back of her hand.
“….”
So delicate a hand, it felt as though it would break if he held too tightly. Nabel closed his eyes. He would need patience.
He wanted to ask her if anything had happened.
If there were those who had wronged her, he wanted to know if they still lived.
Because he did not wish to leave them in this world.
But he would not pry into her memories.
‘There’s no need to force someone to relive a painful past.’
Just as the young Rone once said to him.
Nabel exhaled a short, quiet breath.
His mind was already filled with many plans.
Among them was one to plunge the wretched Lida family into despair.
He already held the means in his hands.
As he recalled the report Nesha had submitted, Nabel gently caressed Rone’s hand again.
